Steam cooking apparatus



Nov. 21, 1967 A. WILHELM ET AL 3,353,477

STEAM COOKING APPARATUS Filed April 11, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1

Alfred Wilhelm Alfred L'o'hr Attorney INVENTORS.

1957 A. WILHELM ET AL 3,353,477

STEAM COOKING APPARATUS Filed April 11, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Alfred Wilhelm Alfred Lb'hr 1058 t Y W n Q Q Attorney I NVEN TORS.

United States Patent 5 Claims. oi. 99360) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Cooking apparatus with steam chamber open at opposite ends and a set of rollers forming a guide path for receptacles carrying the foodstuffs to be cooked, the entrance and exit openings being closable by vertically moving lids disposed just inside these openings so as to be urged by steam pressure against the chamber walls.

This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Ser. No. 438,514, filed Jan. 27, 1965, and now abandoned.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for cooking, by exposure to steam in a fluidtight chamber, foodstuffs which are contained in a multiplicity of receptacles concurrently or successively placed inside the chamber.

The general object of our invention is to provide an apparatus of this description Which can be conveniently adapted to varying requirements by a change in dimensions to accommodate a greater or smaller number of receptacles, e.g., as needed in large kitchens of restaurants or institutions serving different numbers of persons at different times.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide improved means for facilitating the insertion and withdrawal of receptacles into and from the steam chamber of the apparatus and for maintaining a dependable vapor lock when the apparatus is in use.

In accordance with this invention we provide an elongated chamber composed of a plurality of longitudinally adjoining compartments which can 'be bolted or otherwise secured to one another in a fluidtight manner, the number of such compartments depending on the load to be handled. These compartments include an inlet compartment, with an end wall having an entrance opening, and an outlet compartment, with an end wall having an exit opening, the two openings or gates being scalable by respective lids retractably mounted on these end walls, preferably adjacent the inner wall surface. A continuous support for food receptacles is formed by a set of parallel, transversely spaced idler rollers in each compartment which are aligned with those of adjoining compartments so as to define a track extending from the entrance opening to the exit opening. This track may be slightly inclined, sloping downwardly from the inlet to the outlet, so that receptacles introduced at the entrance end will coast downwardly under their own weight until they strike either the exit gate or a preceding receptacle; in this case, however, the slope of the roller track in at least the intermediate compartment or compartments ought to be adjustable to insure continuity if the number of such intermediate compartments is changed. On the other hand, the track portions in some or all compartments may be perfectly level in which event there will be no need for any adjustment regardless of the number of compartments used; the receptacles successively inserted through the entrance opening will then push one another toward the exit until the chamber is filled to capacity.

Steam is admitted into chamber, in the upper part thereof above the roller track, from a suitable generator which advantageously is disposed underneath a partition located below the rollers.

An auxiliary conveyor, driven or not, may be disposed in line with the rollers ahead of the entrance gate and/ or beyond the exit gate; in that instance it will be necessary to have the lower edge of the entrance and/ or exit opening disposed below the level of the rollers so that the receptacles will clear the opening upon passing from the auxiliary conveyor to the rollers in the chamber or viceversa.

Especially when there is to occur a transition between an external conveyor or track and the rollers inside the chamber, the lids should be so constructed as to move upwardly in the initial phase of their retraction so that the spacing between the inner and outer receptacle supports can be held to a minimum.

The above and other features of our invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side-elevational view, in longitudinal section, of a cooking apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional plan view taken on the line II--lI of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an end view, partly in section, taken on the line IIIIII of FIG. 2.

The apparatus shown in the drawing comprises a cooking chamber composed of a series of alignedly interconnected prismatic compartments, i.e., an inlet compartment 1, an outlet compartment 2 and an intermediate compartment 3, the latter being representative of any desired number of such compartments. The two outermost compartments 1 and 2 have end walls 1a, 2a formed with an entrance opening 1b and an exit opening 211, respectively, closable by a pair of lids 5 and 6. Handles 5a and 6a, operable manually or automatically, are pivoted to lids 5 and 6 at 5b and 6b, respectively, whereby these lids can be raised into a retracted position as studs 5c and 60 at their upper edges slide inwardly in channels 11 and 12 toward a fully withdrawn position illustrated in dot-dash lines (FIG. 1) for the lid 6.

Each of the compartments 1, 2, 3 is provided with an internal floor constituted by a set of rollers 4, 4 and 4", respectively, to support a succession of cooking vessels 8 which are introduced through opening 1b and under the effect of gravity, coast toward opening 2b as indicated in FIG. 1 by arrow 9; this is so because, in the embodiment illustrated, the plane of the rollers 4, 4, 4" is slightly inclined. An auxiliary non-driven conveyor or track, aligned with the rollers 4' of compartment 2, is disposed beyond the exit gate 2b and is here shown to consist of similar idler rollers 14; it will be understood that a similar support for receptacles to be introduced into the chamber may be provided ahead of entrance gate 1b.

The compartments 1-3 have steel frameworks lined with sheet steel and are provided with flanges 1, 2' and 3, 3" detachably held together by bolts 13 in an airtight manner. The rollers 4, 4, 4 are supported by rails 15 which are secured with the aid of brackets 16 to the inner wall structure 17 of the respective compartment surrounding the guide path for the cooking vessels 8. The rails 15 may be mounted with adjustable inclination on the brackets 16 so that a continuous track can be maintained when the number of intermediate compartments 3 is either increased or reduced.

A partition 10 in each compartment forms a horizontal internal wall underneath the roller track and, together with the wall 17, defines a boiler chamber 18 below which a set of burners 19 are disposed to heat the boiler water; the steam thus generated rises through one or more pipes 26 to enter a central conduit 21, composed of aligned sections individual to the several compartments, whence outlets 7 open into the space bounded by wall 17 in each compartment. The several sections of conduit 21 are interconnected in conventional manner When the compartments are joined; it is, however, also possible to provide the steam generator 18, 19 with its conduits 7, 20, 21 in only one compartment (e.g., a central compartment 3) and let the steam spread out therefrom throughout the chamber. Suitable valves, not shown, serve to control the flow of steam.

The lids 5, 6 are so disposed along the inner wall surfaces of compartments 1 and 2 that, in their closed position they will be held firmly against the end walls 1a, 2:1 by the steam pressure developed within the chamber. In view of the vertical slidability of these lids in the initial phase of their retraction, no venting of the chamber is required prior to such retraction so that the apparatus can be operated substantially continuously with occasional unblocking of one or both openings 11), 2b to admit and/ or remove one or more receptacles 8. It will be noted that the plane of support P, defined by the rollers, lies above the lower edges of gates 1b and 2b.

The system described and illustrated admits, of course, of many modifications Without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A11 apparatus for the cooking of foodstuffs contained in a multiplicity of receptacles, comprising an elongated fluidtight chamber composed of a plurality of Iongitudinally adjoining compartments, including an inlet compartment with an entrance opening and an outlet compartment with an exit opening, each of said compartments being provided with a set of parallel, transversely extending idler rollers aligned with those of every adjoining compartment and forming therewith a substantially planar continuous support for a series of receptacles ad; vancing from said entrance opening to said exit opening, said rollers being in a plane sloping downwardly from said entrance opening to said exit opening, the supporting level of said rollers being above the lower edges of said entrance and exit openings; steam-generating means communicating with the upper part of said chamber above said rollers; and upwardly slidable lids retractably obstructing said entrance and exit openings, while bearing upon inner wall surfaces of said inlet and outlet compartments immediately adjacent the first and last of said rollers, respectively.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said compartments are provided with substantially horizontal partition means below said rollers, said steam-generating means being disposed in said chamber underneath said partition means.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, comprising supplemental support means for said receptacles disposed at said level immediately outside at least one of said lids with sufficiently closed spacing from the nearest roller to allow said receptacle to bridge the intervening cap.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said supplemental support means comprises a set of additional rollers having substantially the same neutral spacing as the first-mentioned rollers.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said lids are provided with tracks extending upwardly along said openings and inwardly above said openings for guiding said lids into substantially horizontal positions above said rollers upon the uncovering of said openings.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 697,322 4/1902 Bucklin 99360 802,254 10/1905 Baker et al. 99364 890,917 6/1908 Mathews et al. 193-35 1,088,957 3/1914 Arnold 99364 1,127,634 2/1915 Kerber 99361 1,579,645 4/1926 Cappi 99360 2,000,514 5/1935 Enock 9936l 2,094,940 10/1937 Burdo 49-197 X 3,039,379 6/1962 Brown et a1. 99362 WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primal Examiner.

A. O. HENDERSON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR THE COOKING OF FOODSTUFFS CONTAINED IN A MULTIPLICITY OF RECEPTACLES, COMPRISING AN ELONGATED FLUIDTIGHT CHAMBER COMPOSED OF A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALLY ADJOINING COMPARTMENTS, INCLUDING AN INLET COMPARTMENT WITH AN ENTRANCE OPENING AND AN OUTLET COMPARTMENT WITH AN EXIT OPENING, EACH OF SAID COMPARTMENTS BEING PROVIDED WITH A SET OF PARALLEL, TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING IDLER ROLLERS ALIGNED WITH THOSE OF EVERY ADJOINING COMPARTMENT AND FORMING THEREWITH A SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR CONTINUOUS SUPPORT FOR A SERIES OF RECEPTACLES ADVANCING FROM SAID ENTRANCE OPENING TO SAID EXIT OPENING, SAID ROLLERS BEING IN A PLANE SLOPING DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID ENTRANCE OPENING TO SAID EXIT OPENING, THE SUPPORTING LEVEL OF SAID ROLLERS BEING ABOVE THE LOWER EDGES OF SAID ENTRANCE AND EXIT OPENINGS; STEAM-GENERATING MEANS COMMUNICATING WITH THE UPPER PART OF SAID CHAMBER ABOVE SAID ROLLERS; AND UPWARDLY SLIDABLE LIDS RETRACTABLY OBSTRUCTING SAID ENTRANCE AND EXIT OPENINGS, WHILE BEARING UPON INNER WALL SURFACES OF SAID INLET AND OUTLET COMPARTMENTS IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT THE FIRST AND LAST OF SAID ROLLERS, RESPECTIVELY. 